1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to primary reserve, water-activated batteries, and specifically, to an improved water-activated battery that is environmentally safe that eliminates lead in the battery and is used for providing a DC power supply to devices that are utilized in an ocean or sea environment, such as with sonobuoys acoustic listening devices used for anti-submarine operations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of primary reserve, water-activated batteries is well known. Typically, a water-activated battery has a long shelf life and finds service in a single application that, once activated by salt or fresh water, operates for a period of time, whereafter its usefulness is spent. Typically, the conventional water-activated battery includes an electrode made of lead or silver chloride. In recent years, the EPA has restricted and, in some instances, banned certain products containing lead that are released into the environment. When a water-activated, primary reserve battery is used in a system such as a sonobuoy, which is an acoustic receiver and RF transmitter disposed into the ocean for anti-submarine warfare exercises, ultimately the ocean is exposed to the lead chloride electrode compositions of such batteries, causing lead to be received into the ocean or sea environment. Thousands of sonobuoys a year are used.
The purpose of this invention is to provide an environmentally safe, water-activated, primary reserve battery that can be used for a system requiring battery power safely in the environment such as the ocean and which does not allow for any lead contamination.
The battery in the present invention utilizes cuprous iodide as one electrode in conjunction with a magnesium electrode, providing for an environmentally safe battery that can equal the electrical output specifications found in the prior use of lead chloride electrode water-activated batteries. Thus, with the utilization of the present invention in a device such as a sonobuoy, the environment is maintained safe.